By Bob Harris
The 50 members of Community Board 8, who are selected by the Queens borough president with the advice of the local City Council members, will select the items they feel are important for the Fiscal Year 2003 Capital Budget and Expense Budget. The CB 8 Budget Committee chairman is Gerald Roth.
The first few Capital Budget priority items for FY 2002 included a new office to replace the rented apartment currently being used. The rehabilitation of Cunningham Park was again item Number 2. This very heavily used park needs repairs. The Parks Department is using some existing resources to do some repairs but the major rehabilitation will need a large capital expenditure. the members are asking for an increase in asphalt allocations. Repairs to streets are ongoing.
There is a request for rehabilitation of sewers, catch basins and water mains in Kew Gardens Hills. There is a request to extend the island on Jewel Avenue to corner of 164th Street plus the rehabilitation of playgrounds in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The agency will try to do this. Although there was a request to narrow the sidewalk on Queens Boulevard the Department of Transportation has not recommended doing this.
There was a request to fund new non-polluting buses for the Q 44, 46, 77, 65, 25 and 34 lines. The MTA has requested funding for this request in part. Although there was a request to rehabilitate the PS 173 playground the Parks Department stated that there are insufficient funds for this project. The expansion of the Kew Gardens branch library was not recommended by the QBPL. A new comfort station and rehabilitation of the ball fields in Electchester playground had been previously funded for Parks and the final design contract has been let. Parks will also try to rehabilitate the PS 201 Playground
The first few priority items for the Expense Budget FY 2002, in order, were an increase in funding for CB 8, additional vehicles for the 107th Precinct, additional personnel for the 107th Precinct, funding for youth activities, additional waste basket pickup and cleaning of streets and center islands, increased funding for the Beacon programs, more funding for the libraries, dedicated basket pickup for CB 8, additional personnel to forestry, expansion of in-home services for the elderly, field forces maintenance/catch basins, sewers/watermains, funding for transportation of seniors, forces to clean areas adjacent to highways, additional personnel fortraffic sign maintenance and additional personnel for traffic safety investigations.
There were other items but space and the fact is that the lower the priority the less chance that they will be funded, so I didn’t write them. If you have any things you would like funded then contact the CB 8 representatives you know and or call CB 8 at 591-6000.
GOOD AND BAD NEWS
The West Nile virus has again appeared in 2001. One man died in Staten Island and one man became ill in Bayside, Queens. Spraying with malathion has started again although some people claim it is a low level carcinogen for humans. As much as I am concerned about the virus infecting people I keep reading that there are other ways to kill the mosquitoes which carry the virus.
Every pot or pool or sewer or body of water or discarded automobile tire should be treated with chemicals which will kill the mosquito instead of spraying a poison into the air for people to breathe. It is ironic that the Sanitation Department has decided that it will not pick up auto tires but people must bring them to designated collection points. It is human nature that some people will just throw the old tires into vacant lots or behind buildings where they will gather water which can breed mosquitoes which can carry the West Nile virus. Why can’t Sanitation put bins on the sides of their trucks and collect those tires and drop then off at those collection points?
NEW AT CUNNINGHAM PARK BY PARKS DEPARTMENT
In the playschool building in the south west parking lot near 193rd Street, on Mondays and Fridays there’s a FREE senior Get Together from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with cards, games, crafts, bingo, dance. Bring a lunch. The car entrance is on Francis Lewis Boulevard.
After School Fun — Monday through Friday 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Ages 5 – 11, through June. Snack time, homework and reading theme days, parties, movies, games. Registration is $50 per child, thereafter $12 per week. If your child is bused then arrangements may be made to drop your child off at the center. Call Barbaretta Williams for information at 718-740-1999
